MX Linux Forum

Sorry for the daft question guys ( and ladies of course ), what may seem an obvious reason ( to some ) ................
Like having 2 separate desks in your office I suppose, one for your document trays, pen holders, type writer and the such. And the second one loaded with heaps of paperwork, magazines and dirty cups of coffee!

In the real world, it's a great idea as space is always limited. The more flat surfaces you have the better
But on a computer?

I've now been running Linux MX for a few months now, and very happily I may add. But still having not found the need to run a second desktop.
So my question is 'Why' ? Why the need to have somewhere else to put your stuff, when everything can be done on one desktop.

I need convincing ................ So what do you guys use the second desktop for ?



TURK

Moved to chat.

Please be mindful of your posting location.

With so many different options, I thought long and hard about where to put this .............. it seems I got it wrong!


TURK

Do you mean Two Workspaces?
Or, what do you mean by Two Desktops, EDIT as in Two separate computers?

Cheers!

Yes, sorry, I apologise ...............

As You suspected, I meant to say 'WorkSpaces' !

This is what comes from being a Windows user for over 30 years!



TURK

I suspected that - maybe, but I didn't use Windows much.
These people should know: viewtopic.php?t=80476

I occasionally use it, I suspect that it's a way to break-up, or organize your workflow.

And I recently discovered that you can slide (I forget exactly) different computer screens to a second monitor, so I guess you could watch a video on a monitor that was plugged into your laptop (maybe HDMI) and take notes or do whatever with another app. Again, I don't recall the "exact" steps, but once you're aware that it can be done, it's somewhat intuitive.

++EDIT My error, sliding the screen to a monitor is probably not considered a workspace.
Cheers!

Do you mean like this?



2³bit

Putting new paper in that printer seems like hell

TURK wrote: ↑Tue May 14, 2024 12:39 am As You suspected, I meant to say 'WorkSpaces' ! :frown:

This is what comes from being a Windows user for over 30 years!

As a Windows user, you can try running Desktops, which is a Sysinternals tool that emulates a feature that most Linux desktop distros have had for about 25 years.

When monitors were only about 12" diagonally and each one weighed 30 pounds or more, dual-monitor setups were bulky, expensive, and inconvenient, especially for broke college students working on Linux as a hobby in their tiny, cramped dorm rooms they're sharing with one to three other people.

Before laptops got thin and carrying around two at the same time became easy, it made sense to have multiple screens on a single workstation: one for work stuff, a second one with an app that remotes to your home network over RDP or VNC. This way you could still read penny-arcade.com at work over SSH without pinging the domain-filtering corporate firewalls, and switching back to spreadsheets was just a matter of a boss key like the good old days.

I honestly don't use multiple workspaces on Linux much. I think the era of having 4 idle workspaces by default is long over, especially now that most computer displays are obscenely wide. It made more sense before Chrome came on the scene and tried to become the everything application. You used to need different software for each different task you wanted to accomplish. Unless you used Emacs, maybe. I typically set two workspaces and almost entirely forget about the second one. When I was a Windows user I ended up relying on Desktops far more than I do on Linux now. Part of that is cleanly separating my work machine from my personal machine, part of that is that I don't really think about having, say, e-mail in a different workspace anymore like I do with a multi-monitor setup. But having multiple workspaces has been such a go-to feature of "Linux does what Windows don't" (right up until 2019) that seeing a Linux distro that doesn't offer it out of the box is a little odd.

If you don't like it, don't use it. I rarely do. I just like knowing it's there if I need it.

Eadwine Rose wrote: ↑Tue May 14, 2024 1:17 am Putting new paper in that printer seems like hell

Hyperbole aside, it's an illusion from the camera angle. It's changed since then, and is now under the desk.

Ah, here's a more recent pic.



2³bit

I've used three workspaces for years. One has a web browser on it, one an email client, and the third for everything else.

It's much faster over the course of a day to just switch between them when needed.

Chris

8bit wrote: ↑Tue May 14, 2024 1:53 am

Eadwine Rose wrote: ↑Tue May 14, 2024 1:17 am Putting new paper in that printer seems like hell

Hyperbole aside, it's an illusion from the camera angle. It's changed since then, and is now under the desk.

Ah, here's a more recent pic.



2³bit

Hey, Dude:

I don't mean to "out" you, but I.R.L., are you "Gilfoyle" ???
||
\ /



Just for the record, LOVE your setup

chrispop99 wrote: ↑Tue May 14, 2024 3:42 am I've used three workspaces for years. One has a web browser on it, one an email client, and the third for everything else.

It's much faster over the course of a day to just switch between them when needed.

Chris

Same here...
Typically, alpha for the web browser, beta for mail client, gamma for file manager & audio player, delta for anything else...

I would use a second desktop workspace if running a virtual machine...preferably a second monitor.

I gradually increased the number of Workspaces over my first 4 years until I ended up with 6. This has been my standard for the last 5 years. I find it easier to roll the mouse button to switch programs than select an icon.

My standard arrangement is 1 for the file utility, 2 for email client, 3 for the browser, 4 for whatever my main project is (document, spreadsheet, music score, audio file, etc). I keep 5 to run anything else short term and 6 for VirtualBox.

8bit wrote: ↑Tue May 14, 2024 1:16 am Do you mean like this?



2³bit

Not exactly - or at least mine didn't look like that!
But conceptually, yes.

You second picture - did you get a new printer accessory - - the weed wacker paper shredder?
==============================================

Do you people have your "workspace programs" automatically open to a specific workspace?
And if you do, how do you accomplish that?

Reference: viewtopic.php?t=80476

Cheers! & Thanks!

MXRobo wrote: ↑Tue May 14, 2024 1:32 pm
Do you people have your "workspace programs" automatically open to a specific workspace?
And if you do, how do you accomplish that?

Reference: viewtopic.php?t=80476

Cheers! & Thanks!

I could never get that to work reliably with Xfce.

Chris

chrispop99 wrote: ↑Tue May 14, 2024 1:34 pm

MXRobo wrote: ↑Tue May 14, 2024 1:32 pm
Do you people have your "workspace programs" automatically open to a specific workspace?
And if you do, how do you accomplish that?

Reference: viewtopic.php?t=80476

Cheers! & Thanks!

I could never get that to work reliably with Xfce.

Chris

Sorry you could not get it to work with Xfce. I've been using Xfce since I switch from Mephis to MX and have never fail to get it to work.

MXRobo wrote: ↑Tue May 14, 2024 1:32 pm
Do you people have your "workspace programs" automatically open to a specific workspace?
And if you do, how do you accomplish that?

Reference: viewtopic.php?t=80476

Cheers! & Thanks!

Yes - "Save session for future logins" does most of it. Vivaldi doesn't open, but when started it opens in the correct position.

@Gaer Boy Thanks for hitting me over the head with the obvious.
I have NEVER used "Save session for future logins", not once!
I'll have to try that.

@towwire Thanks for absolutely confirming that it will work.

For both, because, I knew workspaces were very handy, but for some reason it never occurred to me to open programs in specific workspaces – perhaps because I didn't know that it was possible.

Thanks again, I'll be using that soon.

MXRobo wrote: ↑Wed May 15, 2024 12:55 pm @Gaer Boy Thanks for hitting me over the head with the obvious.
I have NEVER used "Save session for future logins", not once!
I'll have to try that.

@towwire Thanks for absolutely confirming that it will work.

For both, because, I knew workspaces were very handy, but for some reason it never occurred to me to open programs in specific workspaces – perhaps because I didn't know that it was possible.

Thanks again, I'll be using that soon.

I do not used "Save session for future logins", just the script that places the program on the workspace I wanted. One even works like you started the program and then acts like live and you click on something in that program. I ran that 5 days a week until I found another way to do the same thing.

That was a very interesting read guys, and some very impressive setups!
I love the idea of starting various programs in different workspaces, personal stuff separated from work and or 'play' stuff. Makes a great deal of sense. Even the mention of opening a workspace ( say, Workspace 2 ) on another monitor.

As I'm learning Linux ( not just MX, but particularly the Terminal ) it's a great idea to have a second monitor open for YouTube tutorials.

You have me convinced! .............. I will from now on use both the workspaces available on MX, and who knows, later on maybe add a couple more workspaces.

Many thanks.



TURK

I just started using 2 workspaces having really never used multiple desktops ever. Workspace 2 is for an open fullscreen instance of freefilesync running as root. Workspace 1 is for whatever I am actually doing. As I am using the FFS root instance multiple times in one session I find it simply easier to place it on the 2nd workspace where it and it's tray icon stay out of my way while I'm doing whatever on the other desktop. If I could simply minimize it to the actual notification area I wouldn't even use the workspace switcher.

Xfce: For me I also do not see any reason why to use more than one workspace.

When I want to change between programmes, I use the docklike Icons:
The most important programmes are pinned. So they are always at the same position and I can click them almost blindly: (My panel does not look well, but it is very functional.


Or I use alt+tab to change between programmes:

Virtualbox: To change to the VM, that is open, I use a separate key combination. It is Ctrl+Alt+tab. You have to configure this key combination via -> settings -> keyboard.
With this shortcut the following script starts:
~/.bin/WechselnZwischenVMundLinux.sh

The content of the script is: Please make sure, that "wmctrl" is installed. Maybe in the script you will have to adapt "[is running]". It depends from the title of your VM window.:
Virtualbox: To change back from the VM into Linux we can use this key combination out of the box:
pressing Ctrl – Release Ctrl button – pressing Alt + tab
... or somethimes...
pressing Ctrl – Release Ctrl button – pressing Alt + tab – Release tab button – press tab button again.

Duliwi wrote: ↑Sat May 18, 2024 3:10 am
When I want to change between programmes, I use the docklike Icons:
The most important programmes are pinned. So they are always at the same position and I can click them almost blindly:

Each to their own, and for me it's a menu, right here, right now. With a desktop of 5440x2880, Id rather not mouse across that real estate and shoot for an icon.
To get that, turn off desktop icons for a right-click menu. Desktop icons are like piling the clean laundry on top of the dresser and not using the drawers.
No Whisker Menu, desktop switcher, etc in the panel; just a few indicator icons in the tray. Switch desktops with the mouse wheel.
Four desktops; online, image editing, text editing, anything else.

Just so you can appreciate how 50+ years of computer use might generate a different view...

I typically have use 10 workspaces and at login have the option to choose 1 of 5 window managers. I like the different window manager choice to change up style whenever the spirit moves me (these days I'm most often using hlwm). I assign apps to open to a pre-designated workspace via keybinding scripts that use wmtcrl to open my app (https://linux.die.net/man/1/wmctrl)

As for why I do things this way?!?!? Well because I can.

I have my own reasons (below) but I just did a Google search on "what are uses for multiple workspaces in Linux" and there are lots of hits. Personally, I always thought of my multiple workspaces as a way of going to my home office environment or going to my work office environment without changing a single thing at either one just to accommodate the other - they are as separate as if they are in physically different locations. In essence, that's just a way of organizing work so that some activities don't bleed over into other unrelated activities. And, when you leave one environment you can come back to it later with absolutely everything just as you left it. It's a great feature for some and a trip to Hell-and-back for others. But the very best attribute is: it's there if you like/need it.